Inevitability in the videogames industry is a
common occurrence, and perhaps there is no finer example of this than
the “anticipation” of a game conversion of the latest Disney movie. The
latest of this is, of course, a videogame instalment of the recent
Disney flick, Meet The Robinsons. In typical fashion, the game takes
the basic components of the movie, and distributes them among a series
of events for the player, most of which do not occur in the movie
itself. Meet The Robinsons pits
players in the shoes of Wilbur Robison, a cocky, street-wise
time-travelling kid, who in actuality, was not the star of the film,
but rather a side character. This time around, however, the developers
have put Wilbur at the front of the pack, taking the games lead. After
a brief introduction sequence, you are taken back to the Robison
residence, which acts as a sort of “hub” area to base your missions on.
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| Unlike the movie, Wilbur takes centre stage for the videogame adaptation |
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The dissembler is just one of many gadgets you can use |
The game has you travelling throughout a series of
locations in the Robinson time machine, and traversing various dungeons
while fighting off its indigenous inhabitants and collecting various
gadgets and treasures. Everything here has been done before, so it’s
not going to blow the socks off players wishing for something different
than your average movie – game adaptation. Thing’s don’t exactly get
off to a positive start, however, with Wilbur been given the monotonous
task of discovering the code to the garage. Ostensibly, however, its
really the games chance to allow the player to familiarise his or
herself with the games control and gadget system, taking you through a
series of tutorials.
The most appealing aspect of Meet The
Robinsons is its control system, which is oddly enough mirrored quite
largely around the Zelda games. Wilbur has the ability to “lock-on” to
an object or opponent, before strafing around his target. While it’s
been done to death, its definitely a simple scheme to get the hang of,
and pretty useful for combat. Each dungeon, meanwhile, has a variety of
puzzles and other obstacles for you to overcome, although they’re not
all that intimidating, and can be solved with little effort. The game
also incorporates a rather amusing “Blue print” system, where you are
able to construct a variety of gadgets and other useful equipment by
collecting component parts and throwing it all together in a special
machine back at the lab. Interestingly, in order to obtain these
various components, you must zap objects and enemies using a
disassembler, allowing you to then collect a number of different parts
used to create whatever gadget is required.
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| The game uses a Zelda-style “lock-on” aiming system |
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Spry little fellow, our Wilbur, isn’t he? |
Other weapons include the Chargeball Glove, which
is a basic projectile weapon, to other useful tools including the
Robinson scanner, allowing you to locate hidden objects and find enemy
weak points etc. Suffice to say the game is fundamentally like any
other cartoon adventure, but there’s some interesting additions that
keep the premises fresh and entertaining. In terms of length, the game
is pretty big for what it’s worth, offering up over 40 missions to take
part in, and there are plenty of collectable items on offer, such as
concept art, bonus footage and more. The challenge is pretty tight too,
especially the boss creatures, which require a certain level of tact to
defeat, though most of the game is relatively straightforward.
Visually
speaking, the game holds true to the movie throughout. Characters
retain the look of their movie counterparts, and sport some lively
animations, as you’d expect. The in-game cut scenes in particular are
quite impressive. Environments are colourful and fairly detailed too,
although a few basic textures do tend to get a little bland up close.
Still, there are dozens of locations to explore, nullifying any chances
of repetition. On the audio side of things, again, the game stays true
to the movie, with the films full cast lending their voice talents to
the game. This also benefits the games cut scenes nicely, which have
been built from the ground up specifically for the videogame
incarnation. Other assorted sound effects are pretty mandatory of any
platform romp, although the game score contains some nice, jaunty
tracks worthy of mention. Children especially should find it more than
comforting.
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| Each location has its own boss enemy to defeat |
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Simple but oddly satisfying is the best way to describe Meet The Robinsons |
Overall, Meet The
Robinsons isn’t necessarily breaking any boundaries, but (perhaps
surprisingly) it’s a decent conversion of the movie worth playing if
you’re a fan of the film or indeed Disney in general. Kids in
particular are going to lap it up. There’s plenty of content to unlock
and the main game is pretty meaty compared to most games of its kind
out there, so it’s not a bad choice overall. But we all know that,
inevitably, it’s going to sell, don’t we?
Top Gaming Moment: Some
of the more expansive locations are a treat for the eyes, and you’ll
probably be duped into believing you’re watching the actual movie.
